A Look Back At The 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato

The 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato is an iconic classic with superior analog genes in it. 

It all started for Alfa Romeo when Nicola Romeo, an Italian industrialist, purchased the long-standing Lombard car manufacturing company Alfa. Then, in the year 1919, he decided to add his surname to the company, which led to the birth of Alfa Romeo. The automaker has some of the best designers and engineers on board, and together they created some iconic sports and racing vehicles the world has ever seen. 

To top the engineering prowess, they ended up winning every race they ever entered, including all the Grand Prix available and the 24 hours Le Mans. After the second world war, Alfa Romeo had to scale up its production and go mass market, and one of their best and earliest offerings in the post-war era happened to be the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato. The legendary coachbuilder Zagato was responsible for creating this vehicle primarily for racing, and the model was code-named SZ. This creation was built atop the shorter Giulietta chassis and given the mechanical prowess of the Sprint Veloce. 

This vehicle, in particular, was all the more remarkable as it had a different level of connection to the driver as everything in the interior was analog and old-school compared to some modern-day machines. 

The Old School Italian Glory 

Driving the Alfa Romeo Giulietta feels like operating an old record player or a stereo, as the vehicle has an analog feel to it like no other car. It is not as simple as pushing a button to download an application on a mobile phone. 

This vehicle is known to make drivers feel connected and man and machine become one. The sound of the door closing, the key starting in the engine’s ignition and firing of the carburetors, the precise gear shift, and many others make the 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato special. 

A Head Turning Design

The vehicle’s design was simple and minimalistic, which is what made it special; the front and the grill of the vehicle were signature Alfa Romeo designs with the three-clover grill. In addition, the upper part of the grill had the Alfa Romeo badging at the top, and the side grills integrated the fog lamps and the radiators for cooling. 

The headlamps were circular and had a timeless look to them, and the chrome surrounds made them eye-catching. The headlamp housing was also neatly integrated into the front fenders, which had an excellent design flowing into the A pillar of the vehicle. 

The side of the vehicle is primarily dominated by a single line running from the front Fender to the rear, almost splitting the car into two equal parts. The small profile tires also look particularly good on the vehicle’s compact dimensions, and the chrome mirrors and door handle add an extra sense of luxury. 

The rear three-quarter of the vehicle is perhaps the best viewing angle as it shows the clean minimal lines and the excellent integration of multiple panels. The vehicle’s interior is just as minimal as the exterior, with a center gauge with three points in it. Apart from this, the speedometer, tachometer, and oil pressure gauge are all that is important and needed. The keys to turning on the ignition happen to be towards the left, and the dashboard has a few other buttons in the center along with the 4-speed manual gearbox, and that’s about it. The key vendors feature seating for four people, but it would be best for two. 

As Powerful As Beautiful 

Powering this beautiful car was a 1290 CC inline 4-cylinder engine that had a power output of 

just 100 HP. The power figure might seem significantly less compared to modern-day cars, but back in 1960, this was one of the fastest vehicles as it had a top speed of 120 mph. In typical Italian sports car fashion, it had a very raspy exhaust note and would turn heads on the streets when it flew past. Since this was a bespoke and exclusive car, only 200 units this ever built, and finding one today in pristine condition is as good as finding a needle in a haystack with good examples of these cars being sold for well over half a million dollars. 

The vehicle was manufactured between 1954 and 1965, and in the nine years of its production run, it was sold in different body styles; the Sprint Zagato was the fastest and most stylish to ever exist. The Alfa Romeo Giulietta will always have a special place in the hearts of automobile enthusiasts as even today, the company still focuses on precision and performance over mass market sales, which is what most enthusiasts love about the company.